Vitaly Milonov, the St. Petersburg
lawmaker who authored the city's “gay propaganda” law, has
defended a Russian ban on gay adoption.
The law, approved over the summer, bans
foreign couples living in countries where gay marriage is legal from
adopting Russian born children. The United State is one of the
countries targeted by the law.
When a reporter from Sveriges
Television (SVT), Sweden's national public TV broadcaster, asked
Milonov why gay couples should not be allowed to adopt, he answered
that children would be better off in Russian orphanages.
“The perverts?” Milonov
rhetorically asked. “No, it is unacceptable. Homosexuals are
perverts and should absolutely not be allowed to adopt children.”
He added: “Children who grow up in
that kind of environment are destroyed psychologically.”
“So it is better that the children
remain in orphanages then?” the journalist asked.
“Yes, of course,” Milonov answered.
According to SVT, Russia has blocked
all adoptions to Sweden until it has assurances that Russian children
will not be adopted by gay couples.
Milonov's St. Petersburg ordinance,
which bans the promotion of gay rights to minors, inspired a
nationwide law that has led to calls for a boycott of the Winter
Olympics to be held in Sochi, Russia.
(Related: NOM's
Brian Brown testified in favor of Russia's ban on gay adoption.)